Edmond Elles


Sir Edmond Roche Elles, was a British Army officer who served in Egypt and India during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Family

His daughter was Patricia Wentworth, a crime writer.

Military career

Elles entered the Royal Artillery in 1867 and was promoted to Colonel in 1891. He was Assistant Quartermaster-General at Headquarters in India when he was in November 1893 appointed Deputy Quartermaster-General Bengal. In 1900 he was promoted Major-General. He served in Egypt and India, including the Indian Frontier, and was appointed a district commander in Peshawar on 18 October 1895. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899, Sir William Nicholson was posted to South Africa, and Elles was appointed acting Adjutant-General on 4 January 1900. In December 1900 he was appointed to command a First class district in India, but was replaced four months later, in April 1901, after he had been appointed an Ordinary Member of the Council of the Governor-General of India in March 1901. He was promoted Lieutenant-general 1907, and retired from the army in 1908.
In 1908, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Surrey.